Maloney: 2013 looking like a season for CVC baseball parity

If the first two weeks of the Colonial Valley Conference baseball season are any indication of what the rest of the season has in store, it has the potential to be one of the most fun seasons we’ve had in some time.

The pool of quality teams is as deep as it’s been in some time and the teams who have perennially been down on their luck seem to be improved over previous seasons.

Just one team, Notre Dame (5-0), remains undefeated. Hamilton (4-1) is the lone one-loss team in the conference. The remaining 12 CVC teams have all tasted defeated at least twice.

How’s this for parity? Hamilton’s lone loss came to rival Steinert (3-3). The Spartans have been beaten by Robbinsville (3-3) and Ewing (3-1). The Blue Devils lost to a much-improved Hightstown (3-2) squad that’s outscored the opposition, 42-32, thus far.

Trenton (1-5) picked up its lone win of the season against a WW-P North (1-4) team that handily defeated Allentown (2-3) at Arm & Hammer Park two Friday’s ago.

Lawrence (2-3) opened the season with a solid win over Nottingham (1-5), which after a rough start got its first win by defeating the Redbirds on Wednesday.

Hopewell Valley (5-2) picked up a big win against WW-P South (4-3) but got rolled by Notre Dame. The Pirates (4-3) beat Nottingham and rival WW-P North but have come up short in losses to Steinert and Hamilton.

Hamilton’s 4-1 start includes wins over Robbinsville and WW-P South with the Hornets outscoring the opposition, 35-18. Princeton’s lone win came against Trenton but the Little Tigers (1-4) have been in all but one game thus far and have a roster dotted with experience.

Quite literally, almost any team can be beaten by any team on any given day, something that hasn’t necessarily been the case in recent seasons.

Today features a pair of games that could help foreshadow what the rest of the season has in store.

The marquee game of the week takes place this afternoon at 4 when Notre Dame travels to Rich Giallella Field to take on rival Steinert.

Notre Dame has rolled its way to a flawless start through five games by absolutely bashing the baseball. The Irish have outscored the opposition, 66-13, and hit throughout the lineup.

What the Irish lack in experience — Don Walsh is the lone returning every day starter — they compensate for in confidence. But the first true test for Notre Dame will come when they have to win a 5-4, 4-3 type of ballgame.

For Steinert, which has outscored the opposition by a mere 32-30, a win over their rivals could be exactly what the Spartans need to get momentum rolling in their favor.

Another game to keep an eye on today will take place at Andy Greener field in Ewing when Ewing hosts Hopewell Valley.

After a few down seasons, Ewing is back and has as talented a roster as any other team in the CVC.

Hopewell Valley scored 31 runs over its first three games but just 13 over the last four. A win over a Ewing squad that could very well make a run at both an Mercer County Tournament and NJSIAA Group II Central would be big for the Bulldogs.

Contact Kevin Maloney at Kevmaloney33@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter at Kevmaloney33.